Arch-supporting shoe



Dec.13,1938. P. l. WATTS 2,140,464

v ARCH-SUPPORTING SHOE Filed Dec. 4, 1937 Patented Das, 1538 2,140,464

UNI-TED ys'rxlials PATENT OFFICE ARCH- SUPPORTING SHOE Perley Irving Watts, Rockland, Mass., assigner lo; one-half to Edmond A. Hebert, Brookville,

ass.

Application December 4, 1937, Seal No. 178,021

2 Claims. (Cl. {i6-8.5)

This invention relates to shoes designed to supand under the transverse arch of the foot of the port the arch of the foot in such a manner as wearer. In assembling the shoe, the cushion pad to prevent the falling lof the arch and to give 20 may be placed in the bottom cavity of the shoe v to the wearer a balanced tread. In order to get as shown, the padv being held in place by a rigid 5 the' proper support, the transverse arch of the shank stffener 24 which is superposed on the foot should have a rigid member in the shoe ex- -padf20 and which preferably extends from the tending from .the heel to the ball portinn to carry heel portion of the cavity to the ball portion the weight of the wearer and to prevent sagging thereof. The shank` stiffener illustrated on the of the shank portion of the shoe. drawing is of a kind which is in common use According to the present invention, a rigid and consists of a steel plate 26 to which is se- 10 member of this kind is provided, and a resilient cured a piece of sheet ber 28. The steel piece cushion is built up thereon extending across the 26 is narrow at the heel end and is provided with shank portion of the shoe, that iaimmediately a hole through which a tack 30 is driven into the beneath the transverse arch of the wearers foot, innersole I0 so as to anchor the shank stiiener l5 so as to provide an elevated resilient cushion and the cushion pad 20 to the innersole. The lo under the cuneiform and cuboid bones.- This mid-portion of the steel piece 26 is slightly bent takes the strain off the main bony arch of the transversely to increase the stiiness of the piece, foot but provides for enough resilience under the as indicated in Figure 4. key-bones of the arch to avoid concentration of After the cushion pad and shank stiiener 20 pressure at any one point and to give a degree 24 have been secured in the bottom cavity of the 20 of springiness to the balance tread. shoe by the tack 30, the remaining spaces in the An embodiment of the .invention is hereinafter Cavity are lled With Shoe filler in the 11S11al mandescribed, and is illustrated on the drawing of ner so as to nil the cavity completely. The outer which sole and heel (not shown) are then secured in zFigure 1 is a' perspective view of a cushion place in the usual manner to complete the shoe. 25

, pad for use in my improved shoe- When the completed shoe is Worn, the forward Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan View end of the steel shank piece 26 is supported by oi a partly nnished shoe embodying the inventhe outer sole of the shoe and its rear end is tion. supported by the heel. The thick portion 22 of Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Figthe pad rests on the mid-portion of the shank 30 ure 2. piece 26 and forms a local lump which raises a Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figbroad ridge of slight but suiiicient height across ure 3. A the innersole beneath the middle of the arch of Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a the fOOt t0 prevent Sagging of the arch. modified f orm of cushion pad. Instead ofthe one-piece molded cushion pad 35 In making a shoe according to the present inshown in Figure 1, an equivalent pad may be vennen, the innersole I0 and the upper l2 are more cheaply made, as indicated in Figure 5, by lasted upon a wooden last I4 in the usual manner. mounting a Piece 40 0f resilient material Such 'I'he rib or inseam I6 where the welt I8 is secured as sponge rubber 11D0n -a larger piece 42 having 40 to the innersole along the edges of the ball and a contour similar to that of the pad 20. In this 40 shank portions of the shoe, and the inturned case, the piece 40 iS preferably of the same size margins i9 of the upper around the heel, define as the thickened portion of the Dad 20 and iS thelbottom cavity of the shoe. `when the shoe mounted upon the piece 42 so as to form a p0ris ready to havethe bottom cavity filled with tion 0f additional thickness equivalent to the 45 bottom filler in the usual manner, a cushion 20, thickened portion 22 vShown in Figure 1- 45 such as is illustrated in Figure 1, may be fitted It is evident that various modications and Ainto the heel, and shank portions of the bottom Changes may be made in the particular embodicavity as indicatedin Figure 2. 'I'his cushion ments of the invention herein shown and demaybe made of sponge rubber, felt, or any other scribed Without departing from the spirit or scope 50 suitable soft, resilient material. The cushion is thereof as dened in the following claims. 50

characterized by an area 22 of substantially I claimzgreater thickness' than the remainder of the 1, In a, shoe having an innersole, a rigid shankcushion. This area extends transversely from piece extending from the heel to the ball portion edge to edgeof the 0118111011 and iS located S0 aS of the sh, anda resilient cushion between said to come inthe middle of theshank of the shoe shank piece and innersole from the heel of the shoen to the forward end of the shank portion, said. cushion having a. portion of extra. thickness extending across said shoe at the middle of the shank and raising abroad transverse ridge in the innersole. I

2. In a shoe having an innersole and an outer sole, a. rigid shank stiffener between said soles extending from the heel of the ball portion of 

